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2012 NFL Picks, Every Game: Week 15

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Aldon Smith and the San Francisco 49ers travel cross-country to take on the New England Patriots.

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2012 NFL Picks, Every Game: Week 15, including the Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers at New England Patriots, Denver Broncos at Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals at Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans, New York Giants at Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh Steelers at Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets at Tennessee Titans.</p>

NFL Week 15 previews and predictions for every game on the schedule:

Bengals (7-6) at Eagles (4-9)
Philadelphia ended its eight-game losing streak — the team’s longest run of futility in 42 years — on a last-second TD at Tampa Bay. Now the Eagles look to end a four-game losing streak at home. If they do, the game will be a close one; Philly’s four wins this season have come by a combined six points.Bengals by 3

Packers (9-4) at Bears (8-5)
Green Bay took down arch-rival Chicago, 23–10, on Thursday night in Week 2. The Bears went on a six-game winning streak after that embarrassing loss in the NFL’s oldest rivalry. Chi-town has lost four of its last five contests.Packers by 5

Colts (9-4) at Texans (11-2)
The AFC South’s old guard, Indianapolis, won seven of the division’s first nine titles. But there appears to be a new sheriff in town. Houston will clinch its second straight division crown with a win over Indy this week.Texans by 6

Jaguars (2-11) at Dolphins (5-8)
Jacksonville is a predictable, balanced attack — but not in any way an NFL team should be. The Jags have lost nine of their last 10 games and rank 31st in both offense and defense.Dolphins by 7

Redskins (7-6) at Browns (5-8)
Cleveland missed out on a chance to trade up — the Browns held the No. 4 and 22 overall picks in the 2012 NFL Draft — for Heisman winner Robert Griffin III. If that wasn’t bad enough, fans at the Dawg Pound might miss out on one of their few chances to watch RG3 if the rookie phenom rests his injured knee.Redskins by 1

Vikings (7-6) at Rams (6-6-1)
Adrian Peterson’s quest to become the seventh running back to rush for 2,000 yards — or, as he tells it, his mission to top Eric Dickerson’s all-time single-season mark of 2,105 yards — goes up against St. Louis and Jeff Fisher, who coached the Titans’ Chris Johnson during his CJ2K season (2,006 rush yards) back in 2009.Rams by 1

Buccaneers (6-7) at Saints (5-8)
Drew Brees has thrown four TDs and nine INTs during the Aints’ current three-game losing streak. But Brees threw four TDs and one INT during a 35–28 win at Tampa Bay in Week 7.Saints by 5

Giants (8-5) at Falcons (11-2)
Atlanta has a 3–2 record since starting the year 8–0, with losses to division rivals New Orleans and Carolina. That said, New York’s Blue Blue Wrecking Crew is probably not the most welcome Georgia Dome guest this week. The Giants demolished the Falcons the last time the teams met, in a 24–2 blowout in the Wild Card Round of last year’s NFC Playoffs.Falcons by 2

Seahawks (8-5) at Bills (5-8)
The fifth regular-season game of the Bills’ Toronto Series will kick off indoors at the Rogers Centre in Ontario, Canada. “At home” across the border, the Bills have a 1–3 record.Seahawks by 5

Panthers (4-9) at Chargers (5-8)
Ron Rivera and Norv Turner coach for their jobs. Both teams are fresh off of wins, but they’ve also combined for a 3–7 record since Week 10.Chargers by 4

Lions (4-9) at Cardinals (4-9)
One of the NFL’s three longest losing streaks will end this week, as Detroit (six-game slide) hits Arizona (nine-straight defeats).Lions by 5

Chiefs (2-11) at Raiders (3-10)
The once-proud rivalry between the franchises long run by the late, great Lamar Hunt and Al Davis has fallen on hard times. Oakland won, 26–16, at Kansas City in Week 8.Raiders by 3

Steelers (7-6) at Cowboys (7-6)
Pittsburgh and Dallas have squared off on Super Sunday three times — in Super Bowls X, XIII and XXX. The pressure will be on both teams this week, as the clock is running out on the 2012 season. The Steelers have lost three of their last four, while the Cowboys have earned wins in four of their last five.Steelers by 1

49ers (9-3-1) at Patriots (10-3)
San Fran’s sledgehammer defense is led by sack artist Aldon Smith, who has 19.5 sacks this season — with more than one sack in seven games and zero sacks in three contests. New England’s high-powered offense will be tougher to take down, however. Tom Brady’s crew has averaged 40.6 points per game over their current seven-game winning streak.Patriots by 2

Jets (6-7) at Titans (4-9)
Since the Monday night party’s in Nashville, maybe Hank Williams Jr. will get rowdy again.Titans by 1

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